73 hospitalized for diarrhea in SW China after flood

08:40, July 13, 2011

A total of 73 residents of a town in southwest China's Sichuan Province were hospitalized on Sunday for diarrhea, the local government said in a statement Tuesday.

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, 49 of the victims, all from the town of Qingchengshan, have been discharged from local hospitals, while 24 others are still showing light symptoms, according to the publicity department of the city of Dujiangyan.

An initial investigation by the Dujiangyan Disease Control Center showed that the incident was caused by polluted drinking water in the wake of a rain-triggered flood.

The government of Dujiangyan has set up an emergency team to handle the situation, and a source of drinking water that is believed to be contaminated has been sealed.

Heavy downpours have wreaked havoc in the province since the end of June, causing eight deaths and forcing nearly 170,000 people to relocate, according to the provincial flood control office.